Today is Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. It’s the 36th day of the year, with 329 days remaining.
On this day in history: On Feb. 5, 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, giving eligible workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for qualifying family and medical reasons.
Other notable events:
In 1917, Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto; the law sharply limited Asian immigration and imposed literacy tests for newcomers.
In 1918, more than 200 people died when the Cunard liner SS Tuscania, carrying over 2,000 American troops to Europe, was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Ireland.
In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell made the first of two lunar excursions on the moon’s surface.
In 1973, services were held at Arlington National Cemetery for Col. William B. Nolde, the last official American combat casualty in the Vietnam War before the ceasefire.
In 1994, white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Mississippi, for the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers and was sentenced to life in prison.
In 2008, an outbreak of 87 tornadoes struck nine states in about 12 hours, killing 57 people in Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama; one Arkansas twister carved a 122-mile path of damage.
In 2017, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots mounted one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history, overcoming a 25-point deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in Super Bowl LI, the first Super Bowl to go into overtime.
In 2020, the Senate acquitted President Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial, with only Republican Sen. Mitt Romney voting to convict; in 2021 the Senate again acquitted Trump in his second impeachment trial related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
In 2023, Beyoncé won her 32nd Grammy, becoming the most-decorated artist in Grammy history.
Notable birthdays today: Playwright John Guare is 88; football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach is 84; director Michael Mann is 83; racing Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip is 79; actor Barbara Hershey is 78; comedian-actor Tim Meadows is 65; actress Jennifer Jason Leigh is 64; rock musician Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses) is 62; golf Hall of Famer Jose Maria Olazabal is 60; actor-comedian Chris Parnell is 59; actor Michael Sheen is 57; country singer Sara Evans is 55; actor-singer Darren Criss is 39; actor Henry Golding is 39; and soccer star Neymar is 34.
